Loose leaf ring binder



July 23, 1963 F. WANCE 3,098,490

LOOSE LEAF RING BINDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 9, 1961 INVENTORTran/Z 7l ance/ ATTORNEY July 23, 1963 F. WANCE 3,

LOOSE LEAF RING 'BINDER Filed June 9, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORFrazzffiancev ATTORNEY United States Patent York Filed June 9, 1961,Ser. No. 116,201 1 Claim. (Cl. 129-24 This invention relates toloose-leaf binders of the type in which the sheets or leaves areretained upon rings which are composed of halves or segments that can beopened or separated to place the leaves on them or remove them trom therings.

It is an object of the invention to provide ring opening and closingmeans, located at one end of the binder strip, by which the ringsegments are opened or closed, and which means shall be arranged so thatit will be locked when the ring segments are closed, thereby preventingpossible inadvertent separation or opening of the ring segments duringthe normal use or handling of the binder.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a ringbinder in which the ring halves are borne by plates disposed within aspringy housing and which plates, by their movement to a downwardinclination, cause the ring halves to be brought together to closedposition, which plates are moved to such position by an operating levermounted for pivotal movement in one end of the housing and having partswhich wedge between the plates and the housing to thereby secure alocking effect to maintain the plates in their downwardly inclinedrelationship and keep the ring halves in closed position.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a ring-binder strip constructed accordingto the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the same;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the operating lever;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of parts of the ring bearing plates;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5--5 of FIG.1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the assembly, showingthe position which the parts thereof assume when the rings are in closedposition;

FIG. 7 is a similar sectional view showing the parts with the rings inopen position;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another form of operating lever;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of parts of the ring-bearing plates of aconstruction used tor the acceptance of the locking lever shown in FIG.8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional View through the lever of FIG. 8 showing itsrelationship to the ring-bearing plates while the rings are in closedposition, and

FIG. 11 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when therings are in open position.

Referring to the drawings, 1 generally indicates the elongated springyhousing or shield of the type usually employed in ring binders. Thehousing or shield is provided with an upwardly-arched top panel 2 and isprovided along its opposite longitudinal edges with integrally formedinturned flanges indicated respectively at 3 and 4.

Confined within the housing or shield 1 and positioned between the sideflanges 3 and 4 is a pair of similar metal plates indicated respectivelyat 5 and 6. These plates 5 and 6 are arranged in side-by-side relationwith their 1ongitudinal meeting edges in contact, which edges are so3,%8, 4% Patented July 23, 1963 ice maintained by means of lugs 7 formedat the edges of the plates as shown in FIG. 4. Each ring is composed oftwo segments or halves 8 and the ends of the ring halves are secured tothe plates 5 and 6 by being riveted, welded or otherwise secured tothem, as shown at 9. In the closed position of the ring segments, asshown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the two plates 5 and 6 carrying these ringsegments, incline downwardly from their outer edges toward their pointof edge contact, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. When the ring segments areopened or spread apart, the plates incline upwardly from their edges totheir point of edge contact. The plates are able to assume their upwardor downward inclination clue to the resilience or springiness of thebody of the housing or shield 1. The structure thus far described isknown in binder construction.

Each of the plates 5 and 6 is provided in one end with a rectangularaperture or notch 10, each of the plates thus having .a tongue portion'11, the two tongue portions 11 being disposed in side-by-siderelationship between the two apertures or notches 10* as clearly shownin FIG. 4.

The operating lever is generally indicated at 12, the same consisting ofa metal stamping, and it includes a transversely-curved finger piece 13.At one end, the finger piece .13 is bent laterally as shown at 14, theouter end of the laterally-bent portion 14 being bent downwardly asshown at 115. The result of the construction just described is theformation of a loop member on the end of the finger piece '13, the samebeing defined by side bars 16 connected at the bottom by a curved crosspiece 17. At the opposite sides of the finger piece near its lower endare provided angular shoulders 18.

The binder strip assembly, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is mounted in abinder by rivets or other equivalent fastening elements extendingthrough holes 19 provided in the housing or shield 1 and passing throughholes 20 in the plates 5 and 6 and vertically aligned with the holes 19.At one end, the housing or shield 1 is slit as shown at 21, and aresilient tongue 22, formed out of the body material of the housing, andconstituting a spring element is directed inwardly for engagementagainst the lever 12.

From the foregoing, the operation of the device will be clear. The lever'12 extends through the opening in the end of the housing 1, whichopening is the result of slitting the end portion of the housing at 21.The closed position of the rings is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, whereinit will be noted that the plates 5 and 6 slant downwardly from theirouter side edges to their point of contact with one another down thelongitudinal center line of the binder strip. At this time, the lever 12is disposed in a vertical or upstanding position, as shown in FIG. 6,the side bars 16 of the lever extending through the apertures '10 in theplates 5 and 6. It will be noted that within the loop of the lever 12there is located an angularly disposed lip 23 which, in the vertical orupstanding position of the lever, is disposed against the tongues 11, 11of the plates 5 and 6, thereby maintaining the plates in thedownwardly-inclined positions and the ring segments resultantly closed.It will be further observed that at the same time, the shoulders -18 onthe lever are wedged under and against the top panel 2 of the housing 1,thus maintaining the housing against any flexing movement. The result ofthis arrangement is that the device is locked in its closed posi tionand the ring segments will not become separated except by manualmovement of the lever 12 to a lowered position.

To open the rings, or to separate the segments thereof, the lever 12 ismanually moved to a lowered or horizontal position substantially asshown in FIG. 7. When the lever 12 reaches a position of approximately45 degrees on its downward swing, the wedging effect between the plates*5 and 6 and the housing 1 by parts of the lever is discontinued and asthe lever continues its downward swing, the plates and 6 will beelevated to their position of upward inclination, to thereby move thering segments to separated positions. The device in its open position isshown in FIG. 7. To close and lock the rings merely requires moving thelever =12 to the vertical position shown in FIG. 6. On its raisingmovement the lever 12 has its lip 23 brought into contact with thetongues 11, 1 1 of the plates 5 and 6 and depresses them, and when thelever reaches an approximate 45 degree position, the plates 5 and 6 willhave been depressed suficiently to bring the ring segments together.Further upward movement of the lever 12 brings the shoulders 18 underthe top panel 2 while the lip 23 bears down on the plates 5 and 6 sothat the lower portion of the lever is wedged between the housing '1 andthe plates 5 and 6 to lock the ring segments in closed relationship.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 8

to 11 inclusive, the lower portion of the lever 12a is bent laterally asshown at 25 and is provided with a downturned lip 26. In this embodimentof the invention, the plates 5 and '6 have their opposite longitudinalabutting edges notched to co-operate in the formation of a rectangularopening 30 near one end of the plates and through which the lip 26extends. The operation of this embodiment of the invention issubstantially similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7inclusive. When the lever 12a is in its upright position, as shown inFIG. the horizontal part 25 depresses the plates 5 and 6 to thedownwardly inclined position of FIGS. 9 and 10, with the shoulders 18 ofthe lever taking under the housing or shield 1 as described inconnection with the first embodiment.

When the lever is lowered, as in FIG. 11, the wedging action of theparts of the lever between the housing and plates 5 and 6 is releasedand the plates can be inclined to the proper position to cause the ringhalves to be separated.

By means of the mechanism described a firm and secure locking action isattained so that the possibility of the ring halves being separated oropened inadvertently is avoided.

Having thus described embodiments of the invention, it is obvious thatthe same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to coverall structures coming within the scope of the annexed claim.

What I claim is:

A ring binder having an elongated housing provided with opposite flangededge, a pair of ring-carrying plates disposed within the housing andconfined between the flanges thereof, the plates carrying ring halveswhich are brought to closed position by downward inclination of theplates from their outer edges and are brought to a separated position byupward inclination of the plates, each of the plates having a notch inone end, the notches being separated by parts of the plates, a ringopening and closing lever entering the housing at one end and beingpivotally movable between a raised position to close said ring halvesand a lowered position to open said ring halves, said lever having anupper body portion and having at its lower end a closed loop with thelegs thereof joining the said body portion, the upper portion of saidloop being bent in a direction transversely of the plane of said lever,and the lower closed portion of said loop extending downwardly from saidupper portion generally in the direction of the plane of said lever, thelegs of said loop extending through said notches and the closed lowerend of said loop being located below the said plates, the body portionof said lever having a lip projecting between the legs of said loop foroperative engagement against the top faces of the plates at a pointbetween the notches, and said lever further having upwardly directedstop shoulder means engageable with said housing when said lever is inraised position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,061,676 Shade Nov. 29, 1936

